


They are the same and they are not the same.

by fallencrest



Series: variations on the theme of Stannis' gaze [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: ADWD spoilers, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-23
Updated: 2011-10-23
Packaged: 2017-10-24 21:25:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/268060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallencrest/pseuds/fallencrest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon Snow is just a boy but, when Stannis looks at him, he sees something much more than a boy. He sees a promise, a kingdom, a way to rule the North without conquest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They are the same and they are not the same.

Jon Snow is just a boy but, when Stannis looks at him, he sees something much more than a boy. He sees a promise, a kingdom, a way to rule the North without conquest. He soon discovers that Jon Snow is more than a match for him, however.

Without Stannis' help, Jon Snow really is no more than a boy - or so Stannis thinks - but he is a boy whose stubborn adherence to his values might rival Stannis' own. Most bastard boys long to inherit their father's lands and titles, long for it the way that Stannis longs for what is rightfully his, but this one is different. No, Stannis thinks, perhaps not different, only at war with himself: head and heart. Stannis has always had his conviction and it has saved him from the mistakes which most men make when faced with such dilemmas. Jon Snow has conviction, too, but Stannis thinks that the boy's conviction is wrongheaded, foolish. When he catches himself thinking this, it is hard to force the acknowledgement that many men feel the same way about him.

When Jon chooses the Night's Watch over Stannis' offer of Winterfell, Stannis respects him for it even as he despairs of it. He has lost his best chance of gaining control of the North but he has gained a worthier ally in Jon Snow than he would have had in Jon Stark.


End file.
